7 July 2012

Night Gaunts – Love Life & the Devil


Night Gaunts, being a ska/punk/rap band from New Zealand, started in May 2010 and have 3 studio albums behind their name to date. Their previous LP, Full Body Tourettes [Pt 2], was a revelation in my musical repertoire, and from then I've been anxiously awaiting their new effort.

Life, Love and the Devil, being a 6 song EP takes one on a musical journey. Not necessarily indicating a huge variance in style, but delivers a great selection in unique sounds. Neither rap nor weird-synth-sounds nor long dramatic ‘samples’ usually impress me, but I am now fully addicted to their style. Night Gaunts brings a lot of new elements to the table, and I’ll from now on use any such band as reference to the original source.

The EP itself delivers a unique next chapter. In 26 minutes it’s as if they redefine themselves. The vocals and style is familiar, yet more matured lyrics with a positive, enriching message. Mosquitoes being the opening track, starts off with the vocal sample saying “Wait, wait, wait, let me cut this shit, it’s a nice day, fuck sitting here and writing, I’m going for a walk”. The intro track affirms that one is dealing with an enigma of a band. The closing track Money, Money, Money is a melodic fuck-you to the record companies.

I feel the second track Ill Informed deserves academic attention to put it lightly. It presents an array of unique sounds, with a solid rap over it. With intelligible lyrics being spewed over a familiar sounding synth, Night Gaunts have come to invent and perfect a new genre.  

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